The Spirit of Conquest
by Awareness Bringer
Summary: One-shot example of a Luffy who ate the Soul-Soul Fruit. Sorry, but I decided to stop at one due to lack of imagination for new scenarios. But please, take what I'm suggesting to heart.


**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, Eiichiro Oda does.**

 **[TSOC]**

 **The Spirit of Conquest**

 **[TSOC]**

At Marineford, where the headquarters of the World Government's Navy stood, two elderly, yet strong, Inspector Generals discussed their handling of the more outright corruption, incompetence, and treachery among their fellow Marines within the older man's office. It was a normal conversation pertaining to their work ethics, and as the more important details were spilled out, there was time to talk about things in a more personal than professional manner.

"You've been pretty tired today, Garp." The older Sengoku told his comrade and friend, noticing that he wasn't his usually cheerful self. "What's really bothering you?"

Garp sighed. "It's the fifth of May, old friend. My idiot grandson would be about seventeen by now. Or should. Whichever comes first."

Sengoku frowned, but was no less concerned. "You need to stop blaming yourself, Garp. You couldn't have known that someone would kidnap your grandchild."

"I know, but if I had known the extent of how much in danger he was since birth, I probably should've just left the Navy to raise him rather than risk something awful."

Sengoku grew despondent. "We all eventually blame ourselves for at least one bad thing happening around us."

Garp conceded with a nod before showing some of his temper. "Yeah, but when Rosinante was gone, you arguably got more bad luck than I did with Dragon and Luffy. I was at a fragile spot between losing my command as a potential threat, or a propaganda tool to be used against my own son, but that disturbed little brat had the gall to take advantage of you and get the Fleet Admiral position for herself."

"And then she's been using that position to grind those who oppose her to the ground." Sengoku said irritably. "Yes, I know of that, still, but Kong and the Elder Stars already overruled us years ago. They trust her to get the job down, and since the only one in the Navy who could match her strength is Sakazuki, I'm forced to trust her as well."

"Trust and tolerance are hardly the same thing, Sengoku." Advised Garp.

Before Sengoku could comment on that, they saw the topic of their talk enter the office unannounced. She was large in both height and weight, wore makeup, had wild pink in spite of being in her unattractive sixties, and wore the attire Sengoku most likely would've worn, if he were Fleet Admiral.

"Greetings, old boys." She said with a wide, yet deceptive, smile. "I'm sorry for barging in without an invite, but I was curious on whether you had some important information that was conference-worthy, so to speak."

"Uh, nothing so far, Fleet Admiral Linlin." Started an obviously uncomfortable Sengoku. "We interrogated the patrol that you believed had the Soul-Soul Fruit, but it was for naught."

"I think it's safe to say that Devil Fruit was lost in the wind, Ma'am." Added Garp as he made a not so secret stink eye at Linlin.

Linlin's smile faltered at both responses, but brushed it off. "Well, what's done is done. Keep up the good work, men."

As she made her leave, Garp looked down at the floor thinking in despair. 'Oh, Luffy. If you're still out there, please don't go against that overgrown control freak.'

 **[TSOC]**

Floating in the Paradise portion of the Grand Line, Thriller Bark was once an island from the West Blue Sea before being converted into the largest pirate ship in the world owned by the Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, in name. In the previous ten years, the so called Mysterious Five that ran the ship had undertaken a massive recruitment procedure to create a strong army that numbered well over a thousand. This was due in no small part to the abilities of the Five themselves, Devil Fruit and otherwise.

The lecherous Invisible Man, Absalom, with his consumption of the Clear-Clear Fruit, was able to be a qualified spy and sneak attacker. The world-class surgeon, Doctor Hogback, while arrogant, cynical, and obsessive, possessed medical abilities that arguably rivaled some of the more well-known users of the Op-Op Fruit. Moria himself, as the one who ate the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, had the ability to control shadows and manipulate them as he saw fit. The Ghost Princess Perona, who's Hollow-Hollow Fruit allowed her to produce ghostlike beings to gather information among other uses. And finally, there was the devourer of the Soul-Soul Fruit that grants its user the power to interact with the souls of other beings as well as the user themselves, Monkey D. Luffy.

Originally, Moria planned to use Hogback's medical prowess combined with his own Devil Fruit to create an undead army that would aid him to take his revenge on the Beasts Pirates, but once he learned of the life-granting Soul-Soul Fruit in the East Blue Sea, he was quick to travel there to abduct the younger Luffy and make of use his abilities. While the Soul-Soul Fruit was suited for use on inanimate objects and living animals, but not corpses, Moria believed that if it could anthropomorphize the shadows he stole and then be able to control the actions of their original owners, he'd have a somewhat more sustainable army than making Zombies, especially if Hogback could modify them to have little needs. Upon seeing the successful results on the first few victims, Luffy, then a seven-year-old boy angry for being taken away from his home, was able to trick Moria in having his own shadow be implanted with a soul fragment that than led to Luffy controlling his actions. Although Luffy originally wanted to return back to Dawn Island and leave Moria to the Marines, in the short time he was with the party of four, he grew interested in the idea of a Pirate King using his authority to actually affect the world around him, thus, he stayed to build an army.

For ten years, Luffy was able to control Moria's actions at Warlord meetings and in creating an army of Homies made from both stolen shadows and Hollows produced by Perona, who, after some effort, agreed to be Luffy's partner in this endeavor. And after ten years, Luffy was ready to test his army on the less secure areas of the Four Blues before preparing himself to find the One Piece and take the mantle of Pirate King.

"I just hope I don't get much yelling when I show myself to the friends I left behind." Luffy commented to Perona in the room they shared at Thriller Bark's Mast Mansion since Luffy's sixteenth birthday. It had been a long day, and both were ready for sleep in each other's arms.

"Oh, I'm sure it will be fine, lover boy." Soothed Perona as she began to kiss his cheeks to their shared pleasure. Despite a six-year age gap between them, Perona eventually grew flustered with not being with a tolerable male just as Luffy began to see the older girl in a tempting light which then resulted in a deeper relationship being formed between them.

Luffy smiled and kissed her on the lips. "Where would I be without you, my Ghost Princess?"

Perona giggled. "Oh, I'm sure you'd still find a way to be the Pirate King."

Luffy laughed. "Isn't that the truth?"

The two lovers then began to make out themselves to sleep.

 **[TSOC]**

 **I originally wanted this to be The Spirit of Adventure and to take place after Moria's defeat in a canon-like scenario followed by Fleet Admiral Linlin arriving to bring the hurt, but I struggled a bit to visualize it, so I opted for a total AU instead. Anyway, I should have seven more different Devil Fruit Luffy one-shots to go and hopefully, I'll be done with that. At least for now.**


End file.
